Calendar & Events: Scheduling, Deadlines & Subscriptions

Summary

The skillSYMS calendar is the operational heart of your scheduling: training events, assessments, compliance deadlines, and the conflicts between them all live in one place. This guide shows you how to view your calendar, create and manage events, track QCTO and SETA deadlines, and subscribe to your schedule from external calendar apps via an iCal/ICS feed.

Who This Guide Is For

• Training providers planning classes, assessments, and exams
• Administrators tracking regulatory and compliance deadlines
• Anyone who wants their skillSYMS schedule on their phone or laptop calendar

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• At least one programme or offering configured
• The Calendar module visible in your dashboard sidebar
• (For external sync) Access to Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar

Step 1: View Your Calendar

Navigate to Calendar → My Calendar.

The dashboard shows quick stats—today’s events, this week, upcoming deadlines, and assessments—alongside a month grid and an upcoming-events list. Use the month navigation arrows to move between months.

Tip: The quick-stat cards are the fastest way to spot a busy week or a looming deadline before you open the full grid.

Step 2: Create an Event

Click Add Event from Calendar → My Calendar.

Enter the event details:

1. Title — A clear name for the event
2. Type — e.g. class, assessment, deadline, meeting
3. Date and time — Start and end
4. Linked programme or offering (optional) — Associates the event with a cohort
5. Description and location (optional)

Save the event and it appears on the grid and in your upcoming list.

Tip: When you create an attendance session, related scheduling surfaces here too—keep the calendar as your single source of truth for what’s happening and when.

Step 3: Manage Events

Navigate to Calendar → Manage to see the full list of events.

From here you can:

• Edit an event’s details
• Reschedule (change date/time)
• Cancel an event

The system detects scheduling conflicts (overlaps for the same resource or cohort) so you can resolve clashes before they happen.

Step 4: Track Compliance Deadlines

Navigate to Calendar → Deadlines.

The Compliance Deadlines view tracks QCTO, SETA, and regulatory due dates, grouped by:

• Overdue — Needs immediate action
• Due this week / this month — Plan ahead
• Completed — For your audit record

Tip: Many deadlines are surfaced automatically from your programmes and compliance activity—review this view weekly so nothing slips.

Step 5: Browse the Events List

Navigate to Calendar → Events for a chronological, filterable list of everything on your calendar. This is handy for scanning across months without paging through the grid.

Step 6: Subscribe & Sync to External Calendars

Navigate to Calendar → Subscriptions.

To get your skillSYMS schedule into another calendar app:

1. Copy the iCal/ICS Feed URL shown in Export Your Calendar
2. Use Add to Google Calendar or Add to Outlook, or paste the feed URL into Apple Calendar
3. Your external calendar will sync automatically on its own refresh schedule

You can also Add Subscription to pull an external calendar feed into skillSYMS.

Tip: Treat the ICS feed URL like a password—anyone with it can see your schedule. Don’t share it publicly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Double-booking resources: Watch for conflict warnings when scheduling—resolve them rather than dismissing them.
2. Ignoring overdue deadlines: Overdue compliance items directly affect audit-readiness.
3. Sharing the ICS feed URL: It exposes your full schedule; keep it private.
4. Editing events outside skillSYMS: Changes made in Google/Outlook won’t flow back unless you’ve configured a two-way sync.

Verification Checklist

Before proceeding, verify:

• A test event appears on the month grid and upcoming list
• You can edit and reschedule an event from Manage
• The Deadlines view shows your compliance due dates
• You’ve copied the iCal/ICS feed URL
• The feed loads in your external calendar app

Next Steps

• Attendance Sessions — Schedule sessions and record check-ins
• Geo-Fencing Setup — Add location verification to scheduled sessions
• Reporting & Exports — Turn calendar and attendance data into audit reports